JODRELL Bank has proved Albert Einstein’s theory that objects in space wobble as they spin.

Astronomers studied a dead star to show that – like a spinning top – the angle, at which it rotates, changes over time.

Einstein predicted that gravitational effect 92 years ago in his general theory of relativity.

Last week Jodrell Bank said its study would give experts with alternative theories on gravity something to think about.

“So far, Einstein’s theory has passed all the tests that have been conducted, including ours,” said Professor Michael Kramer.

“If anyone wants to propose an alternative theory of gravity in the future, it must agree with the results that we have obtained here.”

Experts had already tested Einstein’s theory about the wobbling axis – known as precession.

Almost 90 years ago they showed that Earth’s most northern point – its north axial pole – moved position in a circle over 25,800 years. Scientists have since tested those results by studying objects in the Earth’s solar system.

However, Jodrell Bank is the first to study the same wobble in a system with more powerful gravitational effects.

The astronomers’ research proved that - even in extreme conditions - Einstein’s theory still works.

“If Einstein were alive today, he would have been absolutely delighted,” said Professor Kramer.

To reach its findings Jodrell Bank, near Goostrey, helped scientists to study a system that contained two dead stars.

The objects orbit each other every two hours and 25 minutes.

Each has a mass greater than Earth’s sun, but are only the size of Manchester.

It is the only known system of its kind in our galaxy.

The pulsars spin at incredible speeds and emit beams of radio waves into space.

Scientists studied those pulses and, in turn, the movement of the pulsars to test Einstein’s predictions about gravity.

The astronomers’ findings have now been published in the internationally-renowned journal Science.